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Charr and the Spacebridge
Summary: After invading the Decepticon planet of Charr and establishing a temporary base, the Autobots begin inspecting the Spacebridge. Landing Field The level plain outside of Decepticon Headquarters has been smoothed further here, to make an even surface for ships to land. Raised areas of ground have been scraped flat, while slight depressions have been filled in with gravel. Rows of cones have been placed around the field in a symmetrical pattern, the blue light at their tips blinking steadily to guide incoming ships. They send an electronic as well as a visual signal that responds only to officially cleared vessels. However, when energy reserves are low, these beacons are switched off. Contents: Rapid-Deploy Logistics Module Super Valkyrie VF-1S Jetfire Autobot Shuttle Sensor1 Moonracer plays guard. Rodimus Prime does also as he waits for a doctor to come around to him. Dynamo disembarks from the Golden Age. Moonracer toys with one of the blades that she retrieved from Ravage. Must improve flexibility. Must regain mobility. She glances over at the yet un-repaired Flaming one, as she leans against the shuttle. Rodimus Prime looks back at Moonracer, sitting on the ground in a cross legged position. His gun is out, just in case Decepticons somehow pop out of the wood-work and start taking over the place. "How are you holding up, Moonracer?" Dynamo steps down out of the shuttle, his chestplate repaired. However, part of his chest has that gray Bondo-color to it; no repainting facilities here on Charr, after all. "Good day, commander... Moonracer." He grins. "Everything quiet?" Moonracer shrugs, "Been better." she glances towards Dynamo, grins. Bondo. Everyone who has been repaired is bondo colored... maybe they'll blend in better that way. Though gray is such a dull color... "Should get my laser recharged..." Rodimus Prime gives a wave to Dynamo and nods, "Sure seems like it. Maybe we're lucky and the Cons have given up the planet for lost." He doesn't sound too optimistic, though. To Moonracer he sighs, "Check with Pathfinder, wherever she is. Maybe she can hook you up with recharging supplies." Moonracer nods, "Will do." she says. "Not that important though-- I think we'll be all right." Dynamo sits down with his back against the shuttle's side. "Well... I'm not going to pretend I have a degree in tactics, commander, but why would they want this place back, except maybe for the outpost? It's a strategically irrelevant world, it has almost no resources, it's not near any good assault points -- the only thing of use on it is their base." Rodimus Prime nods to Dynamo, "The same reason /we/ came here. Galvatron knows as well as we do that if we get ahold of the spacebridge technology, it'll be a huge asset for us. If I were him, I'd be thinking of launching an attackjust to destroy the bridge. Course, with the damage they took, by the time they're ready for that, we can hopefully be long gone." Dynamo raises his eyeridges. "Does he know we were targeting the spacebridge specifically, though? What if wewere going after the armory, for weapons? Or just on a 'slash and trash' raid, to deny them a base, no matter how remote?" Rodimus Prime shrugs, "I'm working under the assumption that Galvatron isn't a moron." He breaks into a grin, "Course, I've made that mistake before. The only thing of /real/ value is the spacebridge. If Galvatron wants to think we're just going to leave it alone without studying it, then that's fine by me." Moonracer just leans, fiddles. Dynamo hehs. "Not a moron. But he -is- crazy." He sighs, putting his hands behind his head. "I suppose we could get away with this scot-free. Then again, a little cyber-elf could jump out of the shuttle and spit energon in my audiosensor too." Rodimus Prime nods to Dynamo and snickers, "We can only hope. Hey, it's be great if Galvatron lets us go, but wehave to assume the worst. Hope Jetfire and Depthcharge manage to figure this thing out quickly so we can go home." Moonracer nods in response to what Rodimus just said. Though going home isn't exactly where she wants to be right now. Facing Decepticons can be easier than her job sometimes. "They're smart enough." Dynamo nods. "I saw Shockwave overhead during the melee. Galvatron may be crazier than a janitor droid mainlining direct current, but old one eye... there's nothing wrong with his neural net. He may order a second strike." Rodimus Prime idly stretches out his legs, propping them up on a handy burnt rock and nods, "That's true. Whew, I'm glad it's Galvatron calling the shots and not him." Rodimus grins, "Hey, anyone else notice how pissed off Shockwavelooked when he was ordered to retreat?" Moonracer grins, "He's always pissed when he has to take it." Dynamo shrugs. "Does Shockwave have the bearings to make another stab at taking over the 'Cons, though?" Rodimus Prime nods, still grinning, "Just seeing him have to follow around Galvatron as he limped home after the beating Dynamo and I gave him was well worth the price of admission." To Dynamo, Rodimus shrugs, "Beats me. Near as I can figure, Shockwave has the problem of Cyclonus, Scourge, and all of the Sweeps being extremely loyal to Galvatron." Moonracer nods, "I was a little distracted, but watching him retreat is always a nice sight..." she pushes off the shuttle, and starts pacing a little near the shuttle. Not because of boredom, or planing. She's just bloody restless. Flexibility exercises continue with the little knife... if she's lucky she won't end up cutting herself right now. Rodimus Prime idly muses as he watches Moonracer pace around frantically, "A Decepticon civil war would be nice, though... after our recent victories, maybe we can get them to bicker amongst themselves..." ---- ''(commercial break) '' Sheng wakes up slowly and remains still and silent, optics shuttered, as she tries to figure out where she is and what's going on... After a few moments of no sounds of battle or sudden pain as someone beings to... question... her...so she must be with her allies... Sheng unshutters her optics and sits up slowly, hiding a wince as she does so. "Mmph... What happened?" Sheng looks around to see if anyone is near her... "Is everyone alright?" Pathfinder is standing next to the modified cargo container and hears Sheng. She turns around and walks over to her, then crouches down at her side. "Hello, Sheng. Feeling any better? DepthCharge made some repairs to you." Valkyrie VF-19 comes in for a landing from Orbit of Charr. Valkyrie VF-19 has arrived. Valkyrie VF-19 flies in and lands on the tarmac "Did someone call for a taxi? Sheng says, "Yeah..." the femme rubs her temples. "I guess. What happened?" she looks at Pathfinder in a worried manner. "Are you alright?" Hearing a familiar voice from the taramac, she looks in that direction. "If I knew what a taxi was, Strato, I'd answer that."" Valkyrie VF-19 blinks "Ah, a Taxi is a vehicle that humans use to get from place to place if they have nomeans of transportation." Sheng says, "Oh. Then yes we probably called for one." Pathfinder turns around and looks over at Stratosphere as the engines used during his landing send some plumes of dust and ash blowing around to announce his presence. She gives him a thumbs-up, "I'll be right there..." Pathfinder gestures towards Stratosphere by tilting her head. "I've got to make a run to Cybertron, Sheng. Hopefully I'll have some time later to fill in the events that occurered during the missing time for you. Everyone's doing allright, and we have access to the spacebridge now." Pathfinder stands up to head over to Stratosphere, then glances back down at Sheng. "Perhaps you'd like to come back with me?" Sheng nods and gets to her feet, sheer stubborn will keeping her upright and (semi) wobble free. "Sounds good to me..." she starts walking towards Stratosphere... Determined to make it on her own if she can. "Supply run, I take it, Path?" Valkyrie VF-19 chuckles and lowers the entry ramp and waits for the two femme's to board. Pathfinder nods to Sheng. "We'll need to bring more energon than we anticipated. Apparently Charr doesn't have its own cache of it." Valkyrie VF-19 emits "That everyone?" Valkyrie VF-19 powers up and launches into orbit and back for Cybertron Valkyrie VF-19 blasts off for the Orbit of Charr. Rodimus Prime receives a radio transmission from Jetfire. Rodimus Prime leaves to the Central Courtyard - DHQ to the west. Central Courtyard - DHQ Contents: Automated Base Defenses DHQ Charr Spacebridge Outpost A circular ring of metal, almost as tall as the building beside it, marks the perimeter of the spacebridge. The entrance gate, which once slid open and shut, has been permanently jammed open with a metal beam. The delicate spacebridge controls have been moved inside Decepticon Headquarters, and are now part of the computer center. Contents: Rodimus Prime Jetfire DepthCharge Spacebridge Terminus Spacebridge Terminus ' ''This smaller terminus holds an abbreviated form of the control panel, which is nevertheless complex. Currently,the spacebridge is only set to travel to the main terminus at IHQ, although some preliminary wiring is evidently underwayto make the bridges completely interconnected. The 'controls' gleam at you from a polished metal console next to the heavy metal doors, which are sealed during transports. Fortunately examining this whole environment isn't too difficult for DC. It is just an extension of his geology skill. Taking out a sonic screwdriver to adjust the settings on his medical scanner, after a few minutes DepthCharge is able to alter the properties of his scanner to pick up the various planetary data in this area. So, the Aquabot medic starts by recording all the gravitational readings in the area around the space bridge. Moonracer stands back to watch the work. She's pretty sure that there are no Cons landing outside right now, or Dynamo would call. She's mostly bored. Jetfire is standing at the entrance of the spacebridge with a tricorder held up in his right hand, marvelling at thecraftsmanship of the spacebridge. The Air Guardian eventually becomes aware of the Autobot Commander's presence and approaches, "We our nearly complete with the detailed scans of the spacebridge, Rodimus. Most of the structure and components of the spacebridge are within the Autobot's capability of reproducing, however there are certain crucial components that even detailed scans will not be sufficient enough for us to reproduce. Specifically, the emitter pad array, phase transition coils, primary engerizing coils, and the molecular imaging sensors. We will be required to physically remove these particular components and take them back to Autobot City's research and development department for further study." Rodimus Prime steps up to the spacebridge and gives it a tap with his knuckles, again just to make sure it's actuallyhere and this isn't a dream. Clearly, Roddo is happy about this new acquisition. He nods to the air guardian and frowns at the problem, "Do you think you'll be able to eventually reproduce spacebridge technology reliably?" That is, afterall, the entire point of it. A shame they'll have to take apart this one, but c'est la vie, right? Moonracer pokes around and about. Not much interesting here. She can't understand it, but it sure makes some people excited. DepthCharge walks around the bridge, scanning the gravitational fields. As he shuffles around, optic visor focuses on the screen of his scanner, his path brings him over towards Rodimus. Once he hits the area of space around the Chosen One DepthCharge waves the scanner around their leader a few times, emitting a 'hmm' as he looks at the gravitational readings and then DepthCharge brings out a hand to 'poke' Rodimus in the arm. Looking at the readingsexpectantly, DepthCharge shrugs and moves on. Weird. Finishing the gravitational readings DepthCharge then adjustshis scanner and begins to record the universal latitude and longitude. Jetfire pauses for a moment, unsure whether or not he should speak with optimism or pessimism in his estimations, "I am certain that with sufficient time, we certainly will be able to reproduce the spacebridge technology to a degree of absolute perfection." Ah yes, Jetfire decided to opt for the vague approach instead, looks like he's getting better with word games nowadays. "I am concerned, however, with leaving this spacebridge intact when we depart from Charr. The spacebridge and the Decepticon headquarters here is an extraordinary asset, one that the Decepticons can easily quickly reclaim and put to use once more when leave. We would use up the majority of the unspent ordinance thatwe have brought with us to Charr to demolish the Decepticon facilities here, if you wish." Moonracer absently starts fiddling with her blade again. Bad habit. She continues to poke and peer about. Rodimus Prime smiles at Jetfire, and decides that the vague response is, overall, a fairly positive one. He recognises a long winded 'I don't know' when it's given to him. The Chosen One waves at DC as the sensor goes over him. The Autobot blinks t the poke, but otherwise doesn't react. Curiousity gets the best of him, however, and he asks, "What's DepthCharge doing, anyhow?" DepthCharge looks up from his scanner, after he finishes spamming a certain channel, and says to Prime, "Greetings Autobot Leader Rodimus Prime. Things are going well. At the present point in time I'm recording down all the geographicaldetails of this area. You know, such as universal latitude and longitude, gravitational readings, magnetic readings. As most likely this space bridge here is configured specifically for this location and having such data would be useful for configuring our own, when we fully understand this device." Mag-Hovercar enters from the Central Courtyard - DHQ to the east. Rodimus Prime ahs at DepthCharge and scratches his chin, "Y'know, I never really considered that. I had always just assumed that the Cons just tapped a few buttons and hopped on in." Rodimus shrugs, "At least once we study this thing we'll learn exactly what the limitations are on a spacebridge. If there are any, of course. Wonder who's going to be the lucky soul to first try it out." He says this jokingly, but can't help but realize it actually could be a problem. Mag-Hovercar cruises up towards the spacebridge installation, transforming out of his car mode to walk the last few meters towards the gathering. Dynamo rapidly leaps up into his robot mode. DepthCharge emits, still scanning away "I'm sure we can try a few experimental transfers first. Like meat and mechanical components." Or do they need a living being for the transfer? Hmm, that's what they seemed to do in the cartoons. Ah well."I think they did a simular tests in this old terran movie called 'The Fly'." Jetfire slides the lid on his tricorder to a close and returns it to his storage compartment before continuing speaking again, "I believe it will likely be an outdated drone, Rodimus. Due to the previous Autobot and Golden Age era Cybertronian's attempts to produce the spacebridge all ending in the total destruction of the object being transported... it would be a wise precaution." Jetfire takes a quick glance back at the spacebridge, evaluating the device's length and dimensions, "DepthCharge had suggested earlier to transport back as much as the spacebridge as possible, and I must agree with his suggestion. It is unlikely we will be able to transport the entirity of the spacebridge, however, I estimate we should be able to bring back approximately 60% of the spacebridge at the expense of cramped travelling conditions for our comrades on our returning journey." Moonracer still wanders around the site. She's actually starting to look bored. Well.. why not come back, and try to make sense of the conversation. She approaches quietly, cautiously, starting to listen. Rodimus Prime nods to the two scientists, "True. But someone's going to have to take the plunge for the first 'real' test." Rodimus folds his arms and nods at the estimation, "How long do you need to spend here?" He eyes the large doughnut-spacebridge and taps his chin. "I'll see about talking to Magnus about possibly bringing up another shuttle to transport what you guys want back with us." Of course, between the Golden Age and Jetfire, they'll probably be alright. "How much time?" That's the main question. Charr is not exactly a fun place to spend your time. Dynamo steps up next to Moonracer, and taps her on the shoulder to get her attention. "How's it going?" he inquires, smiling. Looking over at the conferring commanders, he folds his arms, watching and listening to the discussion. Moonracer turns back at the tap on her shoulder, grins when she sees who it is. "Eh. Just technical discussion." she glances back at the conversation. Yeah. She's silly enough to consider volunteering for test subject. Sort of. DepthCharge lets Jetfire calculate how long they will need to finish the scans and start dismantling things. Though he does pipe up and emits, "If it helps, I do not plan on resting until we are safely back in Autobot City." Of course, thisprobably is the same for most of the Autobots here. No one can rest easy on Charr. He adjusts his scanner and does a final sweep through the air to calculate the radiation present in the enviornment. Rodimus Prime gives a wave to Dynamo and nods in agreement with Moonracer's accessment. He looks to DepthCharge and says, "No, no, take your time, DepthCharge. I definately want this done right rather than rushed." Rodimus doesn't want to mess up this chance just so he can go home a few days earlier. "With assistance from the rest of the Autobots on Charr, I anticipate completing our task by the tomorrow night, Rodimus.We do not have to worry too much about the less technically atuned Autobot members harming the spacebridge." Jetfire thenpoints to an area on the spacebridge with a gap that has been welded together, "From the scans that Depthcharge and I have taken, we have confirmed that the spacebridge was assembled in pre-constructed modules. We merely have to seperate these modules once more and disconnect any components and circuitry connected in between, of course there may be the risk of some damage being incurred in the process, however considering the fact that we are on hostile territory, it seems to be a welcoming option." Slag enters from the Central Courtyard - DHQ to the east. Rodimus Prime nods to Jetfire. He puts his hand on the air guardian's shoulder and says, "I trust your judgement, you two, and am willing to go along with whatever you suggest on this matter. What I want is a spacebridge we can use for our own purposes. If that means sticking around on Charr a bit longer, so be it. I figure we have at least a week beforeGalvatron could possibly gather up enough troopers and get over here to mount a plausible attempt to retake the area, or to destroy the spacebridge. If you think the best course of action is to hack it on up into various modules and transportit home, then so be it." Rodimus, unlike Galvatron, is all too willing to accept suggestions from others. In fact, he relies on it. DepthCharge emits, finishing his environmental scans and walking back over towards Jetfire and Prime, "Do not concern yourself Autobot Leader Rodimus Prime, we want the space bridge to work just as much as you do." DepthCharge can't help but grin at the thought. Space bridge technology! Woohoo! It will be worth all the effort of battling those mean and nasty Decepticon last night. Was a pretty close call, too. Go, Slag, go dismantle the Spacebridge! Moonracer is here to learn. Or is she here to make sure the sneaky Cons don't sneak up on them. Or something like that. She just nods, smiles, acts like she understands perfectly. Other than the 'take it apart and transport it' part, she really isn't following the conversation very well-- of course... she doesn't want to stay another week here. That might cause complications. "Another week...?" she queries, very quietly. Maybe they won't need another week. Slag unslings his sword.."Me Slag bash spacebridge. It be in many movable pieces. DepthCharge errs and freaks out slightly as he sees Slag arrive and draw his sword. The medic quickly darts over in front of Slag. Yes, that's it DepthCharge. Throw yourself in the line of fire. What a good little Aquabot he is. Slag bumps into DC as he places himself in Slag's way.."What you doing? Rod'mus finnaly give good order. Him say dismantle..spasse bwidge. Me Slag gonna make sure it in many pieces for easy trans-poort. Dynamo sighs, and moves over to discourage Slag as well. "No, no, Slag... we can't use that to dismantle the spacebridge.It takes... uh... special tools! And only Jetfire and Depthcharge have 'em. You don't want to break the spacebridge, do you?" Rodimus Prime grins at DC, "Great, great." He blinks and turns around as DC rushes past him. Wha? Slag? Oh sonuva... The Autobot leader follows the aquabot and says, "Whoa, whoa now, Slag... Jetfire and DC need to figure out exactly /how/ it should be cut up... this isn't a matter of bashing it." He nods and gestures to Dynamo, "Yes, listen to Dynamo. Dynamo's right." Slag blinks.."Yeah..actually me do. Slag shrugs and ignores everyone..."Whatever...me bash now or later. It not matter. Jetfire is pleased with the amount of trust Rodimus Prime places on him and DepthCharge, all the more easier it will be to topple Rodimus Prime's rule and take over the Autobot Faction with Jetfire as the Emperor and DepthCharge as his Sith Apprentice err... I mean all the more easier it is to finish the work and have everyone home on friendly territory. "Verywell then, we shall begin dismantling the spacebridge immediately." The Air Guardian turns to Moonracer and the other assembled Autobots, "I believe there are several field construction tools in the RLDM that Pathfinder had me transport here. The sooner we get the tools out and start working the spacebridge, the quicker we can withdraw from Charr with our objective." Moonracer isn't exactly technically inclined. But she can at least um... pass out the right tools. Right? She gives a mock salute towards Jetfire, and heads out to get the tools. DepthCharge offers Slag, being the kind Aquabot he is, "If you like, I will build you your own space bridge when we get back to Earth for you to bash." Of course, said Space bridge will be made out of wood. But it is the thought that counts. Rodimus Prime sighs at the Dinobot and nods to Jetfire, "Great. Let me know if you need any help, you two." He smiles at DC's offer to Slag, and manages not to snicker. "I'm out for patrols. Can't let the Cons land on the planetoid without usknowing about it. Give me a yell if anything of importance comes up." With that, Rodimus heads towards the exit, as hisplayer heads out for errands. Dynamo watches Slag wander off, and phews. "You know, that guy's like a six-year-old Terran. You spend a lot of time keeping his mind occupied so he doesn't get into the trashcans or something..." Moonracer returns with the tools. Avoids Slag's exit. She's speedy. Efficient. Makes a good cup of coffee-- maybe she should be someone's secretary... Oh wait, she's Blaster's secretary. DepthCharge gives Dynamo a slight smile, having been thinking along the same lines himself. He walks over to Jetfire,whilst Moonracer gets the Airguardian's tools, and asks, "So which area will we focus our dismantling efforts on first?" Jetfire stares at the spacebridge again, looking for a good place to start and to offer a reasonable answer to DepthCharge's question. "Hmm... the doorway of the Spacebridge seems to be the section easiest to dismantle at the start. It would be best to begin with that section now and proceed onwards with the sections after it." DepthCharge nods to Jetfire. He doesn't need any of the tools Moonracer brought, since DC has most of his own tools in his medkit. He gives a smile to Moonracer as he passes the femme to grab his medkit and says to Jetfire, heading to the bridge's doors, "Understood. I'll start work on the right hand side of the door module and you can start work on the left.And we will work along the ring until we each meet up at the opposite end." Moonracer brings Jetfire's tools to him, waiting for instructions. Maybe she should try and pay attention to this? Jetfire retracts his left hand and it is replaced by a multi-purpose apparatus where the plasma cutter tool is then extended outwards for use, "Ah yes, thank you, Moonracer. I will require you and any other Autobots who are not preoccupied with existing duties to help in dismantling the spacebridge. The process is simple enough, use an ion or plasma cutter on the welded gaps that keeps the spacebridge together. Disconnect any circuitry that you might find between each section. There won't be any technical expertise required for disconnecting the circuitries since the spacebridge was assmebled in preconstructed modules, it should be as simple as unplugging things." With that, the Air Guardian also proceeds to work on the left side of the spacebridge's doors. Moonracer nods, and.. erm.. sets to work. Yay Moonracer. She gives a somewhat cheerful grin as she sets to work. It's almost like dismantling bombs-- except these won't blow up in her face. DepthCharge starts to work on the right hand side of the doors, taking his laser scalpel out and cutting away at the welding that keeps a particular section connected to the other. Once the welding is removed, DepthCharge beginsdisconnecting wires, conduits and circuit boards from in between each part. DepthCharge hmms as he takes apart a section of conduits and removes some clamps from his medkit as the conduit begins to leak some liquid. Not wanting to waste the unknown substance, DC clamps either side of the disconnected conduit and moves on. Moonracer does more disconnecting of electronics, than conduits. Actually... she starts to find something to label them, so that when the pieces are put back together ... they have a chance of putting it back together right. DepthCharge works away and finishes the section of the module next to the gate. He hmms as he studies all the disconnected wires, tubes and conduits and ponders how to best protect them for transport. Moonracer does all kinds of technical work. Yup. DepthCharge eventually decides some protective foam padding should help. So, opening his medical bag, he removes some 'spray foam' and begins to spray some protective foam all around where the circuits and wires are. Moonracer continues dismantling. Labeling. It wouldn't be a good thing if the wrong things were plugged in... though thesmart folks would probably know better. Still. It saves time. DepthCharge finishes spraying protective foam on the area of the module and walks over to see how Moonracer is doing. Moonracer glances over from where she just unplugged something, "Hi." she seems to be doing just fine. And look. Prettylabels. Pathfinder is rubbing off on her, isn't she? "Kinda dull... huh?" DepthCharge says with a smile, "Maybe. But it is important work. And consider the future implications of our work now."That's DC, always a positive spin with everything. Moonracer grins. "Well... Hard to think of it in the abstract sometimes." DepthCharge nods and says as he glances over Moonracer's work, "Well, it appears as though you are doing good work."He looks Moonracer up and down and asks, "How are your systems after the repair?" Slag looks at the Spacebridge..."Dis take us to con head quarters? Why we just sit heere??? We can go bash cons right now. Moonracer shrugs, "Returning to optimal." she smiles at DepthCharge. "Thanks to you, that is." Slag starts to walk slowly over to the spacebridge and begins to bang on the side of it a little, as if trying to get an old earth tv to work. Slag looks at DC and blinks.."Why me care if them 'specting me? Me bash them anyway. *Slag continues to walk around thespacebridge rapping on it apparently looking for some sort of on switch. Moonracer looks at Dynamo. Then at Slag. Sighs. "Slag? Could you stop that please?" she wanders over towards the wandering dinobot. "Um... You're the fastest Autobot, right? Wouldn't want you to um.... get sucked into a black hole.We'd miss you." Slag turns to Moonracer incredulously..."A black what?...Me Slag to smart to get sucked into hole. *Slag looks down to hisfeet*..."See...no hole. Moonracer shakes her head, pointing at the bridge. "If you knock on it too hard, it might turn on and suck you in-- and we wouldn't know how to get you back, because you broke it!" she keeps a straight face through this. Yes. She's actually that good. "We wouldn't want to loose you... but then again, I'd be the fastest Autobot again..." DepthCharge stands there and nods in agreement with Moonracer. But he doesn't say anything because he isn't 'that good'. ;) Slag looks at Moonracer..."Me Slag faster den Moonracer and smart as Perceptor. Lose me is a great loss. Me stay away from Spacebridge..for now. Moonracer nods, "It's for the best. If the Decepticons come, we'll need you to help us fight them, but until then...." she smiles. "I guess you should keep the title." DepthCharge sees that the Dino seems to have finished hitting things, so he moves on and starts work on another section of the bride. Moonracer makes sure Slag finds somewhere else to be. Like... patrolling... or... something befiting a Dinobot of his speed. Then she goes back to work. It won't get done by itself. And the sooner she gets done here, the sooner she can get back to work. DepthCharge works away on the next section, taking out his datapad and scanner and recording all the various connections before severing them. ---- ''(commercial break) '' '''Spacebridge Outpost A circular ring of metal, almost as tall as the building beside it, marks the perimeter of the spacebridge. The entrance gate, which once slid open and shut, has been permanently jammed open with a metal beam. The delicate spacebridge controls have been moved inside Decepticon Headquarters, and are now part of the computer center. DepthCharge, the Aquabot medic we all know and love, continues working away on the space bridge, starting to disconnect one of the final modular sections. Moonracer, everyone's favorite femme, went out on a quick patrol. It was her turn after all. Really. It wasn't just because she was bored as can be with her work. She returns... eventually, feeling a little better after having blown off some steam by racing- er... patroling a deserted area. A quick wave to the occupied Medic, and she returns... to find there's not much left for her to do. Thank goodness. DepthCharge runs his scanning over the circuits of the module he has just disconnected, recording their details, before spraying some more of the protective foam over the circuits. Once they are thoroughly covered the Aquabot pops the spray can away and steps over to Moonracer, saying, "Greetings Autobot Moonracer. How is your status?" Moonracer grins, and starts playing with her new habbit... those little blades, of course. "I'm doing fine. We're almost done?" she asks hopefully. She eyes the discarded spray can and immediately dismisses it. Not enough in there to fill an office-- even one as small as Red Alert's. "And how're you doing?" she remembers. DepthCharge nods and says, "Yes, we are almost done. Almost all sections have been disconnected, their circuits electronically mapped and protective foam applied for transport. Soon we should be on back on Earth and the effort of constructing a twin for this bridge can begin." After all, what better way to try and understand a piece of technology than to try and build a simular device. Moonracer grins, "And we'll be able to skip the shuttles." she says. "Was there anything else I could do?" DepthCharge ponders and says, "Not really.. Everything is almost done here." Boy, bet Moonracer is glad to hear that. Probably, however, Moonracer looks slightly disappointed. Why? Waiting around is boring. She could always go on another patrol around the base, and fancy up the scrawled 'Cyclonus loves the cannon!' she spraypainted on her way through the front gates. But that's nothing new. She smiles though. "It'll be good to get out of here..." she says. DepthCharge nods and replies, "Yes it will. I'm looking forward to seeing how everything is going back at Des Moines." DC really shouldn't have gone on that fishing trip. He wasted a lot of time hanging out with everyone, doing nothing. Moonracer shrugs, "I'm sure they're doing fine..." she tells him, "You gave 'em a good start, from what I heard." she glances over at the space bridge pieces. "Maybe they've finished the city by now..." DepthCharge considers, "Perhaps. But there are still many things I would like to see done at Des Moines." Yes, DC needs a clone. Or maybe an automated droid he can control with his thoughts? Yeeeess... Moonracer reaches over to pat DepthCharge on the shoulder. Not with the hand she's playing with sharp and pointies with. "You've done a lot. I'm sure they appreaciate it. There's only so much any one of us can do..." Oh man. She wouldn't be saying that if she knew what he was thinking. DepthCharge smiles to Moonracer as she pats him on the shoulder and says, "I am sure everything will work out. After all, we now have spacebridge technology. So things are certainly going well for the Autobots at the moment." Moonracer grins, and nods. "For a change." Hey. She's feeling good. She's rarin' to go. Moonie doesn't have problems beyond the normal things right now... and distance seems to help with two of them. "Now if we can keep this string of luck going..." DepthCharge says to Moonracer, "Maybe we should try for something grander whilst we have this run of 'good luck'. Perhaps attach the Decepticon imperal headquarters?" Moonracer grins. "I'm game." she asserts. "Just let me go plant a few bombs, and we'll take it out-- no problem." DepthCharge errs and looks like he has reconsidered this course of action. It was said in passing but it appears that Moonracer may be considering it. And, with all the trouble that occured last time she snuck into a Decepticon base, "Perhaps we will hold off and see what Autobot Leader Rodimus Prime suggests our next course of action should be." Jetfire strides in, his optic band studying everything intently. Moonracer gives DepthCharge a little roll of the optics. She may be considering it, however... "Of /course/," she says, "I'm not going in without orders, or backup again. Or there will be a few 'Bots who will be lining up to kick my tail." she grins broadly. She knows better than to go off half cocked again... for now. DepthCharge looks at Moonracer and says, frowning a little, "Autobot Moonracer, speaking about sneaking into enemy bases.. you /do/ know what happened to the Decepticon Chimera lasercore, don't you?" Yes, DC's player has decided to make things interesting. Moonracer shrugs, "No..." she says, "Erm... I assumed that you put her in some drone or another..." she grins, ignorance is bliss. Guess she's not going to be blissfull much longer. "As long as she's not nagging at me from the back of my head, I don't care." DepthCharge errs and says, looking over Moonracer, "Perhaps you had better sit down." Uh oh, those words are never good coming from a medic. Moonracer raises both eyeridges at DepthCharge, and stops playing with the blade. "...What?" she asks, not looking very concerned at all. Of course not. Inside though, her mind is racing. "What is it?" DepthCharge says, his voice shifting to a sympathetic, caring tone, "Autobot Moonracer, the Autobots are no longer in possession of the Decepticon Chimera lasercore." Moonracer blinks. "Thrown away?" she asks, "Was she that badly damaged in the transfer?" Okay... so there is no chance that Chimera will pop up in her head again. The nagging feeling that there's something wrong... continues. DepthCharge moves over to put a hand on Moonracer's shoulder (after all, his medical training has shown that tactile contact helps in such situations), "The Decepticon Chimera lasercore was stolen by a Decepticon infiltration team about a month ago. I am sorry Autobot Moonracer, I was under the impression you knew." Moonracer shakes her head, "But... how? Why? I knew something was stolen..." she frowns for a moment, thinking hard. "How did they know she wasn't still... me?" She vaguely starts to remember some kind of report... at the time she had been a little too... preoccupied. DepthCharge shakes his head and says, "I do not know. Which is worrying. The information on Decepticon Chimera's seperation should not have been known to the Decepticons. Though it was no secret to anyone who entered the repair bay what I was working towards, it still does not explain how they knew. Perhaps they have someone working on the inside?" Isn't Red Alert meant to protect against this type of thing. Silly Security Director. Moonracer frowns, "Wasn't Teletran 2 hacked into at some point? I know I had to change passcodes, and find ne-" almost. "Find out if any of my reports had been tampered with at some point... Maybe... erm. " she peers at DepthCharge. "She was damaged, wasn't she?" the question has to be asked. "So ... what they got was... a paperweight?" DepthCharge says with a shrug, "Yes, she was. Damaged so badly that there was nothing I could do to try and restore her. It was beyond my abilities. But, truth be told, I had hoped to one day go back to the lasercore when my abilities were not so limited. I had hoped to try and rebuild the shattered personality structure. I live by a simple motto. Anything is possible, anything, so long as you are willing to work at it. If you cannot find the solution to a problem, it means you are not working hard enough at it. Therefore, going by this theory, there may have been a day when Decepticon Chimera's lasercore could have been repaired at my hands." Why on Cybertron would DepthCharge even want to do such an act? Moonracer asks the obvious question, "But why fix her? She was... " she shakes her head, "You wanted to fix her?" DepthCharge gives a shurg and says, "I'm a medic. I repair people. It is who I am. . . And I was the one who broke her." He shrugs again. It is hard to explain to someone who isn't a medic. Moonracer stares at DepthCharge for a minute, trying not to pull away, "But... she was evil..." she says lamely. "A Decepticon, even if she wasn't really..." It's hard to explain to someone who isn't a medic, and it's hard to explain why she suddenly feels like she's talking to someone she doesn't know... and yet does at the same time. Doubleback was the last medic she knew who would help both his 'side', and the 'enemy' that way... "You did something to her, because she didn't want to let go... she hurt herself. You didn't do anything wrong." Yes, it is hard. Two different view points are colliding here. He says, sympathy washing over his face (but who the sympathy is for remains unsaid), "Decepticon Chimera was as much a victim as you were. I am sure she didn't ask to be implanted into someone else's mind. In fact, her existence must have been a tortured one. Knowing that you in fact don't really exist. That all the memories, all the things you thought were real were not. That you were someone's experiment." DepthCharge looks into Moonracers optics and says, "As I told Autobot Leader Rodimus Prime, if push came to shove and the only way to save you was to kill Decepticon Chimera, I was willing to do so. You were always the more important one, Autobot Moonracer. But still, can you fault me for wanting to try and help another victim? Perhaps she could have been reformed. Perhaps, I could have done something.." Moonracer was important! Wow. The look in those optics is ... rather torn. "She... I..." Moonracer stumbles. "I was afraid of her for so long... I guess... I still am." a frown. Maybe she should've sat down for this. "She didn't know who she really was-- I felt sorry for her for that." she looks away, "She hates us all. Hated. Could you really have done anything for her?" A slightly sad smile flashes across DepthCharge's lips and he says, "I guess now we will never know." He steps back away from Moonracer, to give her a little room and says, "But in my experience hatred is normally a product of fear." Tis a shame, for now the Decepticons have their hands on Chimera there will be no hope of redemption for her. Swoop is standing on the building next to the space bridge, watching the distance to make sure that nothing will attack while the scientists are doing their science stuff. Moonracer sighs, "Maybe she was afraid. Maybe that's why she tried so hard to hurt me..." she shakes her head, and steps away as well. "I don't know. I probably never will." At least Chimera didn't take her friends away from her-- even if she did try... "But none of it was ever your fault." she says, and heads off to do something. Patrol. Spraypaint more things about Cyclonus and his love of the cannon. Anything but stay still. DepthCharge watches Moonracer go with a mixture of sympathy and sadness on his face and with a sigh walks back to the space bridge, working on disconnecting the final modules. Behold the life of a medic. Oh yeah. You know who Moonracer blames for everything. Even a medic won't change that. Hmmm Cyclonus loves the cannon in bright neon colours on the front gates... now what else? With one of the last modules disconnected, DepthCharge moves about the various space bridge modules and labels them all in order. That way everyone will know to connect module A to module B rather than module A to module F and cause a space bridge malfunction that causes the Earth to be sucked into the Militant dimension. That would be a Very Bad Thing ™ Moonracer will eventually return. Right now she's on 'patrol'. Actually she's just racing around, trying to clear her thoughts. Moonracer wanders back eventually. Halfway wondering what is taking Pathfinder and Sheng so long to get back from that 'short run' to Cybertron. Must have gotten distracted. Oh well. DepthCharge continues to sit there, next to the space bridge, typing away on a datapad. Work, work, work. Moonracer wanders over towards DepthCharge, hesitates. Maybe it's not such a good idea... Instead she wanders around, looking at all the spacebridge pieces.